Wednesday, April 29, 2009

I was talking to a friend on the phone last night and he asked what I’d eaten for dinner. “Ketchup,” I replied. “And what else?” he said. “And nothing. Just ketchup,” I said, “though I suppose onion rings would have been nice.”

I am in love with ketchup for the first time. And yes, I could be biased because I made it but no matter—I think it’s the best ketchup I’ve ever had in my life.

Have you ever made ketchup? If you haven’t, you’re in for a treat. You get to control the sweetness, the spice and you can even make it fiery if you desire, as I did with mine by adding chipotles.

I make salsa at least once a week and I’ve even been known to whip up mayonnaise or Hollandaise when I had a craving for the good stuff. But for some reason homemade ketchup never crossed my mind. Like most people, I ate Heinz my whole life, until I decided that I didn’t want to eat a condiment made with high-fructose corn syrup. I then switched to Whole Foods' version, which is made with cane sugar instead. And it’s good. But not as good as mine.
There are countless recipes floating around, but the one thing they all adhere to is the use of vinegar and a sweetener—usually brown sugar—as it’s this combination mixed with the tomatoes that gives ketchup its distinctive flavor. From there, you can do anything you like, making your ketchup as simple or sophisticated as you desire.

For mine, I diced a 1015 sweet onion and cooked it in olive oil until it was just starting to brown. I then added a 28-ounce can of Roma tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar and a bit of molasses. I threw in some chipotles for smoke and fire, some cinnamon and cloves for spice and some celery seed for brightness. I let it cook for a couple of hours and then pureed it and let it cook some more. My yield was about a pint, though it could have been more if I hadn’t been constantly spooning it out of the pot to taste.

And yes, I do believe that a spoon is an acceptable vehicle for this condiment. But I have over six pounds of 1015 onions that are just begging to be made into onion rings, and I just know that they’ll go beautifully with my homemade chipotle ketchup.

Holy wow. I started drooling just reading this. I made enchilada sauce last night with the same sort of "wow - why haven't I made this before" discovery. And as an odd coincidence, I just ordered a bag of chipotles from Penzeys. I think I know what I'll be making when they come in!

Wow! I'll have to try that. It looks yummy. I made ketchup when DH first when on the low iodine thyroid cancer diet. We have also made mayonnaise, alternative butter spread, and some other things I wouldn't have imagined you could. Many of the recipes are really good. We have also made and canned our own barbecue sauce for years, YUM!!. I am allergic to onions so DH leaves them big and I pick them out. Thanks for sharing the chipotle recipe.

You found 1015 onions in New York? Bravo!!! They really are the best, and they don't make me sob like a little girl when I cut them ;)My husband doesn't like ketchup all that much but I think that even HE might try this, especially with homemade onion rings. Thanks for another fabulous recipe!

I bet the men reading this are just dying. Isn't it every woman's story how when she first met her boyfriend/husband he had nothing but beer and ketchup in his fridge. I know my hubby would certainly eat this by the spoonful, no onion rings necessary.

Now this is a real secret idea to enhance all savory dishes...chipotle rocks!! We have been adding it to so many things it's crazy. We bought some from New Mexico (hot & sweet) also use the canned kind? Thanks for this one! Best, s

Hi Lisa, When I was a little girl, my grandmother used to make ketchup. I remember it being very sweet and tangy and I loved it.She also made mayonnaise and churned her own butter for years and years. She never threw anything away and I remember she made preserves for us kids out of apple peelings.When I think about all the stuff she did, shewas really a little ahead of her time. Still miss her everyday. My most prized possession of hers is an apron and some of her hankies.

I was just thinking about making ketchup the other day and then you posted this! It was like you were reading my mind! I've been a fan of yours for a while and being a genuine texas girl, I love ALL of your recipes!

I saw an episode of Diners,Drive-Ins &Dives where Fee-Etti focused on a Mexican place in Chicago that specialized in cemitas. I had vaguely heard of them before, but they looked absolutely scrumptious and the key to finishing them was Grandma's homemade chipotle "stew". I suppose a few of their regulars might call it chipotle ketchup.

Do you hit this with an immersion blender to smooth it out? or leave it sort of lumpy with the onions?

I think this sounds wonderful, and I'm going to keep this recipe in the back of my mind as the tomatoes hit the farmers market. I try to get there early on Saturdays so I can get the bags of bruised tomatoes for a dollar. This would be a perfect way to use them up. Thanks!!

Heinz organic ketchup tastes more like regular Heinz than the Whole Foods ketchup does. I can't help it - I swear by Heinz ketchup and Hellmann's mayonnaise. But I might try to make a spicy ketchup. . .

My husband gave his dog to the guy who developed the 1015 onion. He's affiliated with Texas A&M, so it's also the official Aggie onion, making it the official onion of my house. Not because I love the Aggies, but because I hate the Longhorns. I'm from Norman, OK, home of the Sooners.

I'll have to try this. My dad made homemade ketchup when I was a kid and it's one of my fondest memories. A while before he passed away, I asked him how he did it and he didn't remember. I was so sad. I'd love to be able to recreate his recipe. This might just get me off to an inspired start. Thanks!

Unless I'm at McD's, I never eat ketchup in its pure form and always kick it up by adding whatever chili sauces I have at hand - be it Rooster Sriracha or sweet chili or homemade Guyanese pepper sauce. Mmmm.

I've made regular ketchup several times and prefer it to store bought. Chipotle is my flavor du jour so I'll be making a batch of this today. It sounds amazing, thanks for sharing. As always, love your blog!

I am a homesick Texas too, and like the ketchup post! Hate to say it, but growing up sometimes I ate more ketchup than fish sticks...not to mention mayo and tomato sandwiches...they were called beefsteak you know!

Like the blog...I am blog cruising due to later 40'something 3 AM wake up calls, or just ringing in my ears, lol

I LOVE Chipotles! There is literally nothing like them on earth, definitely the king of chillies if you ask me.

I live in Korea where stuff like that is non-existent - my girlfriend recently brought us back some chorizo from a trip to Germany but now i wish i had of asked her to get chipotles while she was at it!

good for you for making salsa once a week! I wish! mayo, yea right! only when a client calls. but ketchup, now that's a whole 'nother situation! I'm waiting on the recipe from a French chef I ate with last month in Monaco. Girlfriend, let me just tell you it was divine! I'll make sure to share when I do get it!

I just made a batch using 74/40 tomato filets & I toasted my spices and sauteed the onions and tossed the spices in to meld before I added the tomato filets. I cooked it down for 3 hours and them pureed & added a final bit of vinegar. Thanks for the great idea !!!!

This is fabulous. Made it this weekend and yes, you can just eat it by the spoonful. Not being from Texas, I did reduce the chipotle to just 1 1/2, which was the perfect amount of heat for us. Make this - you won't be disappointed!!

We made this last weekend, and it was so delicious! So far we've put it on fries, meat, you name it! This recipe was surprisingly easy to make, and you can read about our process on my blog. We will definitely make it again in the future.

I made this last night, and enjoyed with with some friends on Magnolia home-fries. The only thing i didn't like is how strongly the clove taste came out. Next time I will probably halve the amount of clove. Otherwise this was super delicious!

That ketchup sounds perfect; what a great idea you had! I must try it. I have actually made ketchup a few times—Indian-style, with cumin, coriander, garam masala, etc. (not an original idea, I got the recipe from Yamuna Devi's cookbook). Served it with samosas. It was fabuloso.

I have made homemade ketchup for the last 2 years. It is so much better than the store bought stuff. I can it and it is very labor intensive, as I use fresh tomatoes, but it is well worth the effort! I think I might make a batch with some of those chipotles in it this summer.

I love the spice in this recipe! I used fresh tomatoes that I roasted with onion and garlic. Added to pot and pureed until it was 28 ounces. Then I added spices and cook a minute and strained. Added back to pot and simmered until think! YUM!